Back to the Start
by PowerOfThePen06
Summary: Continuation of the Aria/Ezra (Ezria) relationship following 4x09. Where I hope their relationship will go. I'll probably only continue this until they get back together in the show, as this is my way of dealing with them not being together. So yeah, I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Nobody Said it was Easy

After seeing Episode 4x09 of Pretty Little Liars, I've decided to continue Ezra and Aria's storyline on my own, just because the TV show is dragging it out and I'm a hardcore Ezria shipper. In case you haven't followed the show in a while, Aria has just heightened her relationship with Jake, while Ezra has just received word from Maggie that she might be taking his son away from him forever. So without further ado, here's a fic which I have titled "Back to the Start," after a youtube video about Ezria featuring Coldplay's "The Scientist."

**Disclaimer:** These characters are not mine, and all events up till this point were created by the writers on the TV series.

**Chapter 1**

Aria laid herself down on the couch nearest the window, absorbing the warm rays of sunlight on her skin. A feeling of pure content engulfed her entire body as she let herself be lost from all cares and worries of the previous day. She couldn't think of Jenna or even of A; no, her thoughts at that moment were reserved only for Jake.

Why had she resisted him for so long? His warm touch brought her closer to pure happiness than anything—well, almost anything. Deep down she knew she preferred Ezra's touch to anything else in the world, but she refused to acknowledge this painful truth. She had to forget him. She had to…

Nights before he had told her he'd do anything for her. It was obvious he still loved her. For just a moment, she considered proving to him she loved him back just as much as she ever had. But she remembered all that she had vowed to herself when they broke up, and left him alone in the doorway to his apartment, broken and confused.

_God, why was she still thinking about him?_ She was supposed to be moving on with Jake. Her thoughts betrayed her true feelings time and again, but she was determined. She _had_ enjoyed the last night with Jake. His close embrace made her feel safe. But affectionate?

She wasn't sure if there was room in her heart to love Jake. She liked being with him, she knew that. But was enjoying his company enough to enjoy a relationship with him? Aria convinced herself that it was.

Just then, her phone buzzed. She jumped a little, a habit that A had forced upon her and her friends. Regaining her composure, she picked it up. She saw Jake's smiling face alongside a text: "Hey. Thanks for last night. You're great."

She smiled to herself, this was right. It felt good.

_Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz._

She looked back down at her phone, her smile fading. Ezra's face glowed on her screen. She pressed "Ignore Call" and put the phone down again.

_Bzzz._ Another text…

This one was from Ezra: "Aria, please. I need your help. Just call me. Please."

She sighed and tossed her phone to the other couch. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Ezra fell backwards onto his bed, exhausted and angry. Maggie was going to take Malcolm away, and Aria wouldn't even answer his calls. He had been there to support her, but she offered him no comfort in return. He was tired and lonely. Why couldn't she understand that?

He tried to show her that he still loved her, outside his apartment the other night. She left him again. How was he going to get through to her?

_Goddammit, she's in high school. _What the hell was he doing, still allowing Aria to seep into his idle thoughts? If she could move on, he had to, too. But it was so hard. He tried not to think of her hair, her eyes, the feel of her lips against his…

_Bzzz._

He glanced at his phone. Aria's picture appeared on the dimly lit screen. His heart lifted ever so slightly and he breathed a sigh of relief. He read the accompanying text: "We can talk. Tomorrow before homeroom sound good?"

Ezra didn't know how comfortable he felt discussing such a painful aspect of his private life in a room that his students could enter freely, but he had held far more intimate chats with Aria despite this before, and quickly replied, "Sure thing. Thank you."

He didn't know what this chat would mean in the context of their relationship, but decided that Malcolm would be his first worry, and lay back on the bed once more.


	2. Chapter 2: Come Up to Meet You

Thanks so much for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows! I'm both surprised and flattered. The kind words really mean a lot to me, as I haven't written for anyone but myself before. Also, sorry I didn't upload this sooner, but I wanted it to be worth your while. I hope it is… Don't be too mad at me when you finish! I'm going to try and write another chapter tonight to make up for it.

**Chapter 2**

The next morning saw both Aria and Ezra up early, thinking about how to approach the upcoming conversation.

Aria wondered what had Ezra so distressed that he'd break the no-contact deal. If it was about their relationship, which was her best guess, she knew she'd better set him straight. She would tell him she was moving on with Jake and happy about it. Maybe if she convinced him of this, she'd convince herself, too…

Ezra meanwhile worried about how to look like he wasn't completely lost without her. He didn't want to seem too kempt, lest she think he was getting along fine in her absence, but he had to show her he was strong nonetheless. He wanted to be ashamed of how nervous he was to talk to a student, but reminded himself that Aria had never been just a student to him.

Aria put a little extra effort into getting ready that morning, too, though she didn't realize it. Her hair was especially silky and her makeup a little too perfect. Looking in the mirror, she wondered for a split second whether she had done this on purpose, to impress Ezra, but convinced herself she really looked the same as she did any other day.

Ezra didn't know what time before homeroom Aria would meet him, so he left out almost an hour earlier than usual. He passed Vice Principal Hackett, who to his relief merely waved as he walked by. When he reached his room, Aria was of course nowhere to be seen, and his nervous heartbeat slowed a bit. _Right, why would she come an hour early?_

This gave ample time for Ezra's thoughts to manifest into horrible predictions about the precise way in which Aria would storm out of his classroom, fed up at his inability to move on. After only 15 minutes of torturous wondering, Ezra had convinced himself that calling Aria was a bad idea.

_But I needed help with Malcolm. _

_But that's not really why I called her. _

_But it is._

_No it isn't._

"Hi, Mr. Fitz."

Ezra's head jerked up, expecting to see Aria standing in the doorway. He rolled his eyes a little upon seeing Jenna instead.

"Hello, Miss Cavanaugh."

"I just wanted to talk to you about the essay from last week—you've got time, right?"

Ezra didn't know what to say. Of course he didn't have time. But he couldn't tell that to Jenna.

"Um, yes, of course."

Jenna began rambling on about Holden Caulfield's hunting hat as Ezra half-listened and half-stared out the window. How would Aria react when he had to call off their chat to talk to her most-hated peer?

He didn't have to wait long to find out. Aria's face peered through the glass window of his door, and her half-smile turned into an expression of pure disgust. Before he could raise a hand to tell her to wait, she had buried her face in both hands and run off. He rushed to the door, but as he stepped into the hallway, he saw the door of the girl's bathroom slam shut.

* * *

Aria was crying as she stared into the bathroom mirror. What the hell was wrong with her? So what, Ezra was talking to Jenna? He did it pretty often. But when the hell did Jenna even get back to school? She had been unconscious less than 48 hours ago.

Why was she so bothered by it? As she stared at her reflection, she saw that her perfectly done makeup from just an hour before was smeared across her face. She didn't understand what was wrong with her. A minute ago she had been planning to set Ezra straight, and now she was crying that he was talking to someone else when he should've been talking to her. Granted half of the anger was because that person was Jenna, but that was no excuse. And her crumbling resolve just made her angrier.

_Bzzz._

A text from Ezra Fitz: "Please, come back. She's gone now. Please."


	3. Chapter 3: Such a Shame for us to Part

As promised, another chapter for the night! Not actually much better on your feelings than the previous one, sorry... You will get a happy chapter soon-ish, I swear! I just really like exploring drama.

**Chapter 3**

"So, I see Jenna's feeling better…"

"Better? I didn't know she was sick."

"No, she wasn't. Someone—I think she hit her head, got a concussion. No big deal."

"When did that happen? Glad to see she's—"

"Yeah. What did you want to talk to me about?" Ezra could see the tension in Aria as she sat opposite him at his desk. He wanted to hold her, ask her about what really went down with Jenna, ask her how she was feeling, if there was something he could do to help…

"Maggie." The name escaped his lips very hesitantly.

"Oh." Aria was a little angry at herself for thinking Ezra would want to talk about restoring their relationship. Maybe he _had_ gotten the message the other night, and was moving on after all.

"Yeah."

"What about her?"

"She's…she wants to—" Ezra put his hand over his mouth and stared at the window once more.

"Ezra…" Aria noticed a shaking in her own voice that sounded just a little too caring.

"She's going to take Malcolm away." Aria thought she caught a glimpse of a tear form I the corner of his eye.

"But she can't, you're his father—"

"I'm not listed as the father on the birth certificate, Aria. She's moving to Seattle for a job and I don't have any legal say in it." There was a hint of desperation underlying the anger in his voice. Aria didn't know what to make of that, much less how _she_ could do anything about it.

"I'm so sorry, Ezra. I know how much Malcolm means to you—"

"Means to me? He's my son, Aria!"

"I know, I just meant—"

"And there's nothing I or anyone but Maggie can do to change—" Ezra stopped midsentence, and looked into Aria's eyes. He saw tears beginning to form in their depths.

"You're right. So why did you ask me to come here?" Aria tried to sound only as concerned as a friend should, but her words instead came across as completely distant and unfeeling.

Ezra just looked at her helplessly. She couldn't meet his gaze.

"I didn't mean—"

"It's okay. You're right. This is something I have to deal with. I shouldn't have bothered you with it."

"You don't bother me." Aria realized that her resolve to move on with Jake was slipping farther and farther from reality.

"Aria—" Ezra stopped himself once again as Mr. Hackett walked by. The vice principal stopped in the doorway just long enough to wave and flash a smile that told them both to be careful about how intimate their conversations got.

"We shouldn't do this here."

"You're right. How about—"

"Or anywhere, Ezra." Aria bit her lip. _Time to be firm._

"Aria—" The morning bell rang and cut Ezra's sentence short as Aria stood up to go to her homeroom.

"I'm sorry…" Aria whispered as she pushed past Ezra's students, wiping her teary eyes and smudging the mascara she'd just reapplied.


End file.
